


Flashfic Collection

by gyuhyun



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Drama, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Morning Kisses, Multi, Romance, Sad Ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-30
Updated: 2016-01-11
Packaged: 2018-02-23 06:04:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2536895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gyuhyun/pseuds/gyuhyun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of less than 1000 words stories that I wrote and posted on my <a href="wheredreamslast.livejournal.com">writing journal</a>. Various pairings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chanyeol-centric; Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this kind of world, everyone loses themselves. Chanyeol isn't any different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [](http://mara-ciro.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://mara-ciro.livejournal.com/)**mara_ciro**.

Chanyeol feels like he's drowning, feels like he's submerged in the deepest parts of the ocean with no way out.

He's clawing out his throat trying to open it up for some air but nothing happens. No air comes and Chanyeol feels himself lose consciousness.

Chanyeol bolts upright from his bed. He's sweating all over, leaving his shirt completely drenched. He's gasping and panting for air and he's feeling slightly disoriented. He takes in his surroundings and begins to mutter realities in his life.

"I am Park Chanyeol. I'm the lead rapper of EXO-K. My roommate is Byun Baekhyun and we live in the dorms with 4 other people."

He takes a deep breath and combs his hand through his hair. And the most important of all.

"I am SM Entertainment's puppet."

 

 

 

 

Being Chanyeol, EXO-K's lead rapper, is hard. At first, being the Happy Virus was okay. SM had let him run with it, let him embody that persona. But now — _now_ — it was different.

 _"You're too happy,"_ they told him.

Chanyeol didn't think of his entertainment agency to be cruel, not until they stripped him off of his identity.

 

 

 

 

"I can't lose this," he'd often whisper to himself in the middle of the night. He'd been having those nightmares of drowning or someone gripping tightly around his windpipe and then he'd wake up gasping for air.

He knows what it means but, "I can't lose this."

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol has —is— withdrawing himself from the group. He had begun to feel out of place. Almost as if their happiness was a way of mocking him that he couldn't be _too happy_. Because of this, he couldn't be with them. He'd forget about the image he had to keep. He is EXO's voice now, _not_ their Happy Virus.

The change in Chanyeol's behavior had not gone unnoticed and the rest of the members suffered greatly from it. Some more than others.

 

 

 

 

"Chanyeol, are you okay?" Baekhyun asks in the middle of the night. It's one of those times when Chanyeol can't sleep and his tossing and turning affects Baekhyun's sleep.

Chanyeol turns away so his back is facing Baekhyun. "Do you know what it's like to not know who you are anymore?"

Whether Baekhyun answers or not, he never knows.

It doesn't matter.

He doesn't sleep again that night, afraid he'd dream of suffocating and not wake up this time.

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol has always been a happy person, has always made people happy. He'd smile too widely and laugh too loudly, that's how he's always been. He'd always just been happy. Even in hard times, he'd found a way to be happy.

But now, he's no longer that person. Now, he's a person with a pretty smile. He's an idol whose laughter is controlled and subdued. Now, he's anything but Park Chanyeol.

"I don't know who I am anymore," he cries to no one in particular.

All the members have given up on helping him. He was beyond help anyways. He is stuck in this fake reality where he isn't himself and every day is a show he starred in.

There was no more Park Chanyeol. There was only EXO-K's Chanyeol.

 

 

 

 

Baekhyun is the one who confronts him, the one who pushes him against the wall and pins him there.

Chanyeol momentarily thinks that even though Baekhyun's significantly smaller than him, he's quite strong.

"Look here, Chanyeol," Baekhyun seethes, breath fanning across Chanyeol's face. "If you think you're the only one who's losing himself in all of this then _fuck you_."

Baekhyun pushes him against the wall before letting go of his collar. "You're not -- you're not the only one SM's trying to change." He takes a deep breath and looks to the floor. His voice is soft when he says, "You're not the only one who's beginning to feel the tight grip SM has on their neck."

But Chanyeol hears it. He hears everything.

"Baek — I -,"

Baekhyun cuts him off, "The point is: you're not in this alone."

Baekhyun finally looks up, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Baekhyun slips his hands in Chanyeol's and squeezes them. "You don't have to suffer alone. We're all here for you. _I_ will always be here for you."

Chanyeol feels the tears prick the corners of his eyes and before he knows it, he's crying in Baekhyun's arms but the feeling is different.

It's no longer cries of desperation but cries of relief. For the first time in a long time, Chanyeol doesn't feel the fingers around his neck taking away his last breath. Chanyeol feels like he can breathe again.

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol still doesn't know who is, still is confused as to who he is. SM is still controlling him and holding him tightly by his neck but it's different now.

"I'm EXO's voice, Chanyeol."

"I'm EXO's Baekhyun, in charge of eyeliner."

At least now he isn't alone.


	2. suchen; Happy Birthday!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jongdae wants something to happen on his birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A birthday fic for Bijae ♥♥♥ Because she's awesome and sorry it isn't much longer :/ (also IDK your LJ UN O:) (and well for Jongdae as well I guess... since it's his birthday also but yeah written for Bijae mostly L M A O)

Jongdae doesn't expect anything special to happen on his birthday. It's almost 12MN and he should really sleep because they have a schedule tomorrow. He sighs and drags his feet to his room.

A part of him frowns when he spots his new roommate and not Joonmyun and Jongin. He's gotten so used to sneaking into Joonmyun's bed and snuggling himself into the elder's embrace to sleep. He wishes he could have that right now, that would be an awesome birthday present, he thinks dryly.

He trudges to his bed with heavy footsteps knowing he'll have a fitful sleep for the night. He's warm and safe in his comforter and his eyes are a few seconds into closing for the rest of the night when the door creaks open and the little light blinds him.

There's a figure he can't really decipher who because it's dark and he's still sleepy.

"Jongdae," the soft familiar voice is enough to wake him up, eyes widening in recognition.

"Joonmyun hyung," he says, "what are you doing here?"

Jongdae is thankful for the little light because he is able to see Joonmyun put a finger to his lips rather than hear the soft shushing sound that he makes.

Joonmyun pulls the comforter off Jongdae and takes his hand in his, pulling him up and off the bed. Jongdae suppresses a groan because he just got comfortable and the whine dies in his throat when their leader looks back and smirks at him whispering, "Keep quiet."

The elder leads him in the dark hallways and into his room where there is light and it's almost blinding.

Before he can react, Joonmyun squeezes his hand and smiles at him, "Happy Birthday, Jongdae!"

Jongdae smiles so widely as he turns his eyes away from Joonmyun's bright smile and finds a small cake and a few presents surrounding it.

The cake is small and simple. It's all white and Jongdae knows inside there's going to be chocolate. Joonmyun got him his favorite cake.

"Make your wish," Joonmyun whispers circling Jongdae's waist with his arms and resting his chin on his shoulder.

Jongdae nods and closes his eyes. His wish is simple and he really hopes Joonmyun wouldn't find out because it's cheesy.

_"I wish I could spend all my birthdays with Joonmyun."_

Jongdae blows the candles and turns in Joonmyun's arms to envelop the elder in a warm thankful embrace.

"Thank you," he whispers in Joonmyun's ears. "I love you."

When the cake is finished and the presents are opened, Joonmyun lays Jongdae down on his bed and showers him with loving kisses before holding him close and whispering good night.

Jongdae stays awake long enough to hear Joonmyun's 'I love you'. And his last thought is that this is the best present he could ever ask for.


	3. krisyeol; What's Missing?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chanyeol has finished writing his letter for Kris but there's something missing and he doesn't know what. The sequel for [this](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2536223). Written for [](http://perfectiontales.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://perfectiontales.livejournal.com/)**perfectiontales**

Chanyeol bites the end of his pen as he stares at the prompt on his paper.

 _Write a letter to your best friend in French._ It says.

He turns his head to the side to watch Kris focus on his exam. Kris looks very focused, eyebrows almost knotted together in his concentration. Chanyeol briefly wonders what he could have to say to this guy. He briefly wonders what kind of drugs his teacher is on because who'd be stupid enough to have this kind of prompt to a bunch of boys. He sighs and trashes that train of thought and opts to just finish his essay.

He takes out an extra paper and drafts his letter. He starts out with thank yous, because he has a lot to e thankful for, then he places a few sorrys because he's had his moments as a bad friend and ends with well wishes. His letter is short by all means but it's in French and it's long enough to impress his teacher. Well, at least he hopes it is.

He goes over the letter a few more times because it looks like it's missing something. He isn't quite sure what. He gives it another quick perusal before penning it down on his paper hearing Kris mutter incoherent things from beside him, a quirk Kris has when he's taking exams. Chanyeol smiles fondly as he continues to finish his exam.

There is at least 30 more minutes on the clock so Chanyeol painstakingly reviews his answers for the other parts of the exam. He makes sure to leave the letter part for last because he still doesn't know what last thing to add.

He stares back at his letter, reads it again until he's practically memorized the words and he isn't quite sure what else to add, what else it could be missing.

He glances at his best friend once again and watches him answer his exam. Kris had always looked handsome when concentration was etched on his face. He turns away almost quickly, not exactly sure why.

He shakes his head and focuses on the exam. He begins to think back on their friendship, 17 years of happy memories mixed with a few bumps in the road.

He remembers the time he had made Kris cry. It was a rare moment and he will treasure that memory forever. They'd been 7 at the time and Chanyeol had played a nasty prank on Kris. Of course at the time when Kris had cried, practically bawled, Chanyeol was remorseful but now the memory is good blackmail. Because Kris doesn't cry about small matters and tables have turned somewhat, Chanyeol finds himself to be the one that cries more often, being comforted by Kris. He contemplates adding this to his letter. He bites his lip and shakes his head. It feels a bit out of place.

So Chanyeol continues his walk through memory land.

He remembers a lot of things: overnights that were spent staying up all night, sneaking out at night so they could watch the stars, pranking teachers and friends and a whole lot more. The memories are never ending and Chanyeol begins to realize just how much of his life is shared with Kris, that he cannot look back and not see Kris in any of his memories. The thought makes his heart skip a beat and he's not sure why.

"15 minutes." Their teacher says and he hears the rest of the class begin to panic answer. He kind of panics to because he's not exactly done with his letter and he's not sure why it even matter because it's not as if Kris will be able to read it.

He momentarily wonders what Kris had written, if Kris will tell him so he takes another peek at Kris and sees him scrawling down on the letter portion of the exam and that's when he hears, "Monsieur Chanyeol,"

For some reason, Chanyeol takes a deep breath.

"Je t'aime."

And he holds it as he stares with wide eyes at Kris who begins to turn to look at him. Their eyes meet and Chanyeol notices the panic in Kris's eyes but all he can think about is the sound of his heart beating erratically.

Chanyeol is the first to break eye contact as he tightens his grip on his pen despite the fact that his hands are shaking. His face feels flushed as he scribbles the conclusion of his letter because he finally knows what was missing.

Unlike Kris, he doesn't say it out loud, he whispers it with his heart.

'Je t'aime.'


	4. Sick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jongdae is sick and someone needs to take care of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on this [tweet](http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1rvvq6l), [this](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BealNGjCUAAEypN.jpg) and [this](http://twitpic.com/dstr0p).

Jongdae wraps the comforter around him tightly, breathing out as the cold and heat mix in a way that leaves him dazed and shivering. The comforter does little to help in warming him up so he curls himself into a ball and whimpers. He can practically feel the heat emanating from his body and even then, he's still cold.   
  
"Hyung," he whimpers pathetically, feeling the tears prick at the corners of his eyes. "Hyung."  
  
"Don't go," he cries as the image of a person's back burns in his mind. "Don't leave me."  
  
There's the sound of footsteps meeting floorboards and Jongdae wants to open his eyes to see if it's the person he's been waiting for, but he's fatigued and his eyelids won't open. So, he patiently waits for the person to speak but only feels a warm hand pressing against his forehead before the hand strokes his hair lightly.  
  
"Don't leave me, hyung," he whispers, taking his hand out from the comforter to hold onto the wrist of the person stroking his hair.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"He's still calling out for Joonmyun," Minseok says, not bothering to look at Kris from the other side of Jongdae's bed. He keeps his eyes on Jongdae who's shivering from the fever he's been suffering from lately.   
  
Kris curses. "You and I both know he's not going to come back home until late."   
  
Minseok sighs and slumps in his chair as he reaches out to hold Jongdae's hand in his. "I'm sorry," He whispers kissing Jongdae's hand softly.  
  
Kris, having witnessed such an intimate gesture, looks away and coughs. "I'll go call again and see if he and Kyungsoo can come back earlier."  
  
Minseok scoffs lightly, fixing Jongdae's fringe with the tips of his fingers, soft enough that it won't wake the younger. "Don't bother," Minseok sighs. "They're not gonna come back early for something as trivial as this. Besides, they haven't been on a date for a long time."   
  
Kris tries to say something but he knows there's nothing he can retaliate to that, not when Minseok is speaking the truth.  
  
"I'll leave him to you, then," Kris settles to say instead, leaving the room.   
  
When Kris leaves, Jongdae starts shivering again.   
  
"Cold," Jongdae whispers so softly that Minseok almost misses it.  
  
"Cold," Jongdae whines again, trying to toss and turn in his bed but there's a heaviness in his body that stops him from moving completely.  
  
Minseok shushes him, making soothing sounds as he gets on Jongdae's bed and gets in the comforter with him. He pulls Jongdae in his arms and hopes the heat from his body will warm Jongdae enough.   
  
"Hyung?" Jongdae whispers, eyes starting to open. "Hyung, is that you?"   
  
Minseok opens his mouth to say yes but knows that wouldn't be fair to Jongdae, so he whispers, "I'm sorry."  
  
The laugh that escapes Jongdae's lips is one of the most painful things Minseok has ever heard. There are tears spilling from Jongdae's closed eyes and he tries to hide them by burying his head in Minseok's chest.   
  
"...should've known," Minseok hears from where Jongdae's head is buried and he tightens his hold on the younger.   
  
"Don't leave me, hyung," Jongdae whispers aloud and Minseok doesn't know who Jongdae is talking about but it doesn't stop him from replying, hoping that one day, the hyung Jongdae calls out to, with all the love he can give, will be him.  
  
"Never."


	5. kaisoo; In The Middle of The Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s always in the night when Kyungsoo thinks about his feelings, Jongin, and Jongin’s feelings. It’s always in the night before he goes to sleep when he finds himself thinking of a love that can never be returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on this [prompt](http://exopromptmeme.livejournal.com/1386.html?thread=223338#t223338). I’ve been wanting it filled but no one seems to do it, so I did it because I’ve been thinking about it a lot......

Kyungsoo can’t make the images in his mind disappear. If he closes his eyes they become vivid, if he opens his eyes, he begins to feel them. Life is screwing with him.

Still, he closes his eyes and lets the memory take over.

Jongin is kissing him, kissing him softly then hard. Everything is passionate and full of lust. Jongin’s hands are all over him, taking of his clothes, pushing him towards his bed and all over his white skin tainting it red with every burning touch.

Jongin trails kisses down his neck to his chest and stomach and lower he goes until he’s got Kyungsoo’s cock in his mouth and Kyungsoo sucks in a breath.

Jongin prepares him, the first two fingers are okay, but the third stings a little but Kyungsoo knows it will get better. The fingers are replaced by something bigger and Jongin pushes in slowly like it’s Kyungsoo’s first time all over again but it’s not. Kyungsoo tries not to cry at the sentiment.

Kyungsoo opens his eyes before the memory of Jongin coming can fill his mind with the name he says as does. It’s too late though because it already does. All over his head, all he hears is, ‘Yesul’.

He shakes his head and tries not to cry.

Everytime Jongin breaks up with Yesul, he goes to Kyungsoo drunk and sleeps with him. Kyungsoo wakes up to a sorry post it note and then Yesul and Jongin are back together.

It’s twisted how Jongin plays with his heart, how Jongin can’t love him but sleeps with him anyways, multiple times and says Yesul’s name like Yesul would have a dick, and he thrusts into a vagina and not an asshole. Kyungsoo wants to laugh and cry at how stupid everything is. The only one getting hurt is Kyungsoo.

But he wonders why anyways.

Why would Jongin sleep with him out of all the girls out there that would be willing to sleep with him, that would be willing to have one night stands with him, wonders why he chooses his best friend who’s been in love with him to sleep with, not just one night stands, but over and over again. With a one night stand, sure it would hurt but at least it wouldn’t leave Kyungsoo thinking that maybe there was something more to it than just being drunk and broken.

He cries himself to sleep that night again.

 

 

 

 

 

“I broke up with Yesul.” Kyungsoo chokes on his hot coffee and proceeds to spill most of it on his pajama pants.

Jongin had knocked on his door so hard that morning Kyungsoo had been forced to open his door with his eyes still feeling swollen and his body oozing with sleep. Now, they were sitting facing each other.

“Are you okay?” Jongin is by his side as Kyungsoo tries not to burn himself.

“Yeah, he chokes out.” He stands up and Jongin follows him into his bedroom.

“I broke up with her this time.” Jongin continues as Kyungsoo begins to change clothes. Nevermind that he can feel Jongin’s eyes watching his every move. Kyungsoo remembers how Jongin would cry sometimes how Yesul can break up with him, why she’d break up with him as he thrusts into Kyungsoo.

He’s half naked now and he feels Jongin walking closer as he takes of his pajama pants.

“Why?” He whispers but he knows Jongin hears.

“Because it would never work out.” Jongin simply says. Kyungsoo’s heart leaps out of his chest when he feels warm hands on his bare waist. He drops the spare pants he was going to put on when all of a sudden Jongin is embracing him.

“I’m sorry.” Jongin whispers, his breath hot on his neck. “I know I hurt you but I want you to know that every night, before I left, I regret not saying your name. I don’t even know why I say hers when all I can think about is you. And I’m sorry for getting back with her and then breaking it off and then going to you. I never should have gotten back with her the first time, because somewhere inside me I knew it would never feel right, not when the time I spent with you was right.” Jongin’s hold on him tightens and Kyungsoo cries.

Jongin turns Kyungsoo and holds him in his arms.

“I love you, Kyungsoo and I want to be with you. I know I broke you, and I don’t deserve your forgiveness but all I need is one chance and I’ll make things right.”

Kyungsoo is a sobbing mess when Jongin finishes, he wants to tell him, no, qants to deny him the happiness, wants to hurt Jongin, too. But he can’t because he’ll just hurt himself and really, his chance at happiness is knocking at his doors and he should just open the door and welcome it.

He pulls away slightly and stands on his toes and kisses Jongin, “I love you, too.”

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes, when Kyungsoo can’t sleep, he’ll turn to the other side of his bed, and feel arms pull him close to another warm body. “Kyungsoo.” Jongin says as he feels Kyungsoo safely in his arms like Kyungsoo will leave him if he doesn’t hold him like that. It’s at times like these that Kyungsoo knows he will never regret giving in to Jongin that one last time. 


	6. kaisoo; Date: me please

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on this [photo](http://24.media.tumblr.com/a78c7a2416900d64f4f92348707ddb96/tumblr_mq6pn2rTpe1sxsx59o1_500.jpg)

Jongin is biting his lip in pure anxiety. If he had a pen, he'd bite that, too but his pen is still in his pencil case on the desk waiting to be opened. His heart is hammering in his chest and his feet won't stop their twitching. He's going through his mental reviewer and mouthing the words and terms he reviewed last night and just a few minutes ago. With his eyes closed, he can almost see the words he highlighted on his book.

 

Just then their teacher walks in and Jongin opens his eyes. His heart skips a beat and he stops his nervous fidgeting in favor of staring wide-eyed and star stricken. Do Kyungsoo is smiling at the class looking like an 18 year old even though the rest of the class knows that isn't true. 

 

"Good morning class!" He cheerily says and Jongin holds his breath for a minute or two (or maybe less and he's just exaggerating). "I hope you're all ready for the exam today." He says smiling as he takes out the stack of papers in his bag and everyone groans, except for Jongin who is staring at the way Kyungsoo's button down shirt has two buttons open, giving him a nice view of collarbones and a nice milky plane surface.

 

"Ok, keep all your notes and only your writing materials on the table." Kyungsoo begins to hand out the papers and Jongin's nervous fidgeting comes back because  _'Oh shit, exam time.'_

 

"If you have any questions, raise your hand. Don't ask your seatmate." Kyungsoo begins to warn as he makes his round along the columns of the seats. "If I catch you cheating, I'm going to fail you on this exam, which I need to remind you is 25% of your grade." 

 

A few more students groan, but Jongin has no time to react to his teacher's warnings because a paper is being handed to him. He nervously grabs the thin stack of sheets and passes it on to the person behind him. His foot won't stop their twitching and he nervously bites the end of his pen.

 

"You may begin." Kyungsoo says and everyone rapidly answers their test papers. 

 

Jongin takes one more look at Kyungsoo, for inspiration, takes a deep breath and begins answering. 

 

During the exam, Jongin takes fleeting glances at his teacher who is doing random things on his desk. It helps calm him and make him focus (and even he questions how that happens). It also helps him remember past lessons they've gone through when he can't seem to remember the answer. Little details make it easy for his mind to string through his memory and dig certain concepts and terms out. Like how he's staring at Kyungsoo fingers right now, and how beautiful they'd looked as they wrote the word  _'Force is equal to...'_ and he writes down the answer on the blank, mentally fist pumping.

 

He goes through another set of questions and when he gets stuck, he stares back at his teacher once again who is now eyeing each and every one of them. Their eyes meet, and Kyungsoo smiles at him, mouthing something along the lines of  _'Focus, Jongin ssi'._ And Jongin can't help remembering that one time he'd been called to recite and how melodious his name rolled off of Kyungsoo's mouth. He can still remember how Kyungsoo had asked,  _'Jongin ssi,'_ and Jongin's heart skips a beat at the memory and at the time that it happened,  _'can you tell me the three laws of motion?'_  and Jongin speedily writes down the answer again. 

 

There is only 10 more minutes left and Jongin is just reviewing his answers when he realizes he hasn't put his name and date on the paper, yet. He almost curses loudly as he hastily writes his name down. He silently curses his teacher because he'd been staring at Kyungsoo for a few minutes (or maybe 15) instead of actually reviewing. 

 

He's just about to write the date when a great idea hits him. A smirk is playing at his lips as he smugly writes down the date.

 

 

 

 

 

Kyungsoo is checking the papers, counting them to see if everyone had submitted their exam when he finds Kim Jongin's paper. He has to admit, he would've read past through it had Jongin not written the date with red ink. He can't help but smile when he sees what Jongin has written, though.

 

' _Date: **me please** '_

 

Kyungsoo smiles at the invitation knowing full well he'll have to turn Jongin down. He'll just have to remind Jongin that he's graduating soon so the poor boy won't be so heartbroken (and he won't have to wait  _too_ long).

 

He might as well start grading this paper since it's in his hands now.

 

 

 

 

 

Kyungsoo returns the papers the next day and Jongin gets a B on his Physics final. At least, Jongin thinks, he now knows Kyungsoo doesn't just ace people for their lame attempts at pickup lines.


	7. kaisoo; Home is where you are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story is about Jongin, the problem child who finds a way home in Kyungsoo's arms.

Kim Jongin is a man who does not know where to go or where he has come from. Born as an orphan, he has lived his life wondering if his mother ever loved him. He wonders if his father had abandoned them before his birth. He thinks about all these things until he cannot sleep anymore.  
  
And then he meets Do Kyungsoo, another orphan in the orphanage, wide-eyed with a warm smile but wiser than any of the children. He had told Jongin not think about those that he does not know of because they will never have an answer. He taught Jongin to think of himself, to find happiness for himself.  
  
Which is why, ten years later, with the money he has earned from his part time job, Jongin runs away from the orphanage. He does not take Kyungsoo with him, he does not tell anyone. But he does leave a note to tell Kyungsoo that he is grateful for all the things he has done. After all, without Kyungsoo, he wouldn't find direction in his life.   
  
And that's where things go wrong.   
  
Jongin, just a few days after he leaves, finds himself involved in all kinds of wrong things. Gangs, drugs, girls (some boys) and many more. Little by little, Jongin ruins his life and before he knows it, a long time has passed and the lessons from the wide-eyed boy he'd met at the orphanage had been forgotten.  
  
But he does remember them, eventually.  
  
It is on a day in the hospital. He'd been stabbed in a gang fight and his leader had almost regretfully allowed him to be taken in to the hospital because they couldn't do anything for him anymore. He thinks about the wide-eyed boy and his words, his words of making a life for his own and how this life isn't what he wanted. He wants to know if its too late. And he laughs (and chokes on it because of his wound), because he can see the smile on that boy's face, eyes crinkling and turning into crescents telling him that  _no, it is never too late. Nothing is ever too late._  
  
And Jongin smiles for the first time in a long time.  
  
When Jongin quits the gang, they let him go without any problems. He is relieved at that.   
  
And he goes in searching of the boy whose name he can't even remember.   
  
He finds him in the outskirts of Seoul, living by the beach where the breeze is cool and the sand is soft on his feet.   
  
The wide-eyed boy is no longer a kid but a man who opens the door to greet Jongin with the same heart shaped smile he had on when they first met.  
  
"Come in," the man tells Jongin and Jongin feels his heart pick up speed at the way it sounds a lot like  _'I've been waiting for you'_.  
  
"I'm Kyungsoo and you must be Jongin." Jongin smiles bashfully because he knows after all these years that this man —no, Kyungsoo— had not forgotten him at all.  
  
"I heard you were looking for me," Kyungsoo says rather than asks as he ushers Jongin to sit and Jongin wants to tell him everything, from how he ran away and ended up ruining his life but now he's trying to live again, trying to find where he belongs —trying to find a home.  
  
Jongin opens his mouth but nothing comes out. Kyungsoo looks at him and smiles softly, moving closer to wrap Jongin's hands in his.  
  
"You're welcome to stay here if you've got nowhere to go," is all he says and then Jongin's crying, tears falling like rain on his cheeks and he gets pulled into Kyungsoo's arm, arms circling his thin frail body and he cries even more.   
  
He cries because this, in Kyungsoo's arms, in his warm house makes him feel safe, makes him feel like he belongs. This feeling in his heart, as Kyungsoo holds him and whispers words of love in his ears, feels like home.


	8. jundae: Morning Kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are things Jongdae must and mustn't do in the mornings, but one thing always stays the same.

Jongdae thinks about many things. In the morning, before he opens his eyes, he lays out the list of things he has to accomplish. _Wake up, wake Joonmyun up, brush teeth, walk the dog, take a bath, fix the lunches, kiss Joonmyun good morning_. He runs over the list and adds a few more if needed— _grocery day today_ or, sometimes, _take out the trash day_ —before crossing things out.

Before the list can get any longer, Jongdae opens his eyes and greets the morning with a pained groan, turning to the warmth by his side. He can hear Joonmyun sigh as he wraps his arms around Jongdae. Jongdae tries to resist falling back to sleep, knowing that it's time to get the both of them ready to face the day.

And just like all other days, Jongdae presses his lips against Joonmyun's eyes.

"Wake up, babe," he whispers, pressing a few more kisses all over Joonmyun's cheeks and jawline. "Wake up."

Joonmyun groans and buries his head in Jongdae's neck. Jongdae chuckles as he kisses Joonmyun's shoulder.

"Come on, Joonmyunie," he breathes as he kisses a line up from Joonmyun's neck to his lips.

"I'm up," Joonmyun whispers against Jongdae's lips.

"Good," Jongdae says before diving in again for another kiss.

"Just one more," Joonmyun says before catching Jongdae's lips for a deeper and longer kiss.

Jongdae has a list of things to do in the morning, but no matter what he adds or takes away, only one thing remains, _kiss Joonmyun awake._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually, I originally wrote this for the [30 day kissing thing I was planning for jundae](http://wheredreamslast.livejournal.com/24035.html) but that didn't really happen too well. But Jackie wanted [a birthday jundae fic](https://twitter.com/kyuhyunaaa/status/682821951098720256) so I offered since this was almost kinda finished. This isn't as long as I hoped it to be (i really wanted it to be 1k words BUT HEY). But it's good on it's own so I'm ok with it too haha


End file.
